Mary Delahunty

Author, Inspirational Speaker, Personal Development, Social Commentator

Mary is a writer, award winning ABC Journalist and former Education Minister. She is National Director of Writing Australia and Chair of Orchestra Victoria. She was the first female solo prime time TV newsreader in Victoria, and the first female Planning Minister in Victoria.

Haven’t I seen you before?

Yes — as a Television Presenter and Interviewer on ABC and Channel 10. For ABC’s Nationwide I reported from around Australia. I presented and interviewed on ABC’s 7pm News and 7.30 Report. For Channel 10’s The Reporters and ABC’s Four Corners I roamed the world as a Foreign Correspondent reporting on wars, presidents and hope.

Where were you born?

I was born into a large rambling family on a wheat and sheep property in western Victoria. I grew up under the endless sky, then went to boarding school in Ballarat, followed by university in Melbourne, before taking off in a career in Journalism.

What other jobs have you had?

I’ve been a Victorian Government Minister; Education, Planning, Women’s Affairs and the longest serving Minister for the Arts. I’ve also been a School teacher and a Media Consultant at various times.

What have been the highlights of your career?

Winning the Gold Walkley for my Four Corners report on The Philippines, being sworn in as Education and Arts Minister, and having Public Life: Private Grief published.

What themes are recurring in your work?

Making your own luck, managing change, education as an enabler and knowledge as power, and grief and loss.

What are you passionate about?

The enabling power of education and good citizenship. The joy of music and writing. The residential Writer’s Retreat I have established at my farm in the Macedon Ranges, Victoria.

Anything else you’d like to share with us?

I have a red rose bred and named after me — the Mary Delahunty Rose.